Discussion Question

A nurse colleague uses his personal cell phone to take a photo of a patient’s wound and then sends a message with the photo to the primary care provider via a text. Please consider the following in your discussion post:

• What principles of patient confidentiality might be an issue? Consider legal and ethical.
• How might this nurse use a communication device to support safe patient practices?
• What would your organization’s policy on ‘personal communication device use in a patient care setting’ reveal related to this case? (If your organization does not have a written policy, or you are not currently working in an organization, what do you think should be included in such a policy and why?)